Karim Harji

Work experience

Fellowship in International Microfinance and Microenterprise

The Fellowship in International Microfinance and Microenterprise (IMM) program, sponsored by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), is designed to develop skills and promote learning for outstanding young Canadians who have a desire and an aptitude to work effectively in a global environment. An intensive four-week training program in Canada is followed by an eight-month placement with an organization involved in the microfinance/microenterprise sector in the developing world.

Feb 2008 - Present

Senior Research Associate

The Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3CI) brings together superior academic research and knowledge dissemination to Canadian communities in ways that promote long-term growth and sustainable development. One of Canada’s leading sources of expertise in social finance, 3CI has also played a leadership role in grant-making, evaluation and policy analysis in the fields of community economic development and social enterprise.

2007 - Present

Social Impact/Metrics Advisor

The Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation's mission is to educate, innovative and celebrate emerging, and current Canadian social entrepreneurs. The CSEF’s goal is to develop Canadian social entrepreneurs so that they can contribute to the economic and social development of Canada and the world. The key components of our model provide Education, Resources, and a Network for Social Entrepreneurs.

2007 - Present

Emerging Leaders Committee

The Emerging Leaders Committee is a group of young people established within the Canadian CED Network, working to increase the number and quality of young practitioners entering CED - with the goal of building a national movement of youth who are passionate about creating better economic opportunities and enhancing environmental and social conditions.

2000 - Present

Partner

Kenyakom provides effective and affordable web design and web hosting solutions for small businesses and non-profits. We've been designing sites for over seven years, and are committed to designing websites for diverse organizations. We also provide efficient and affordable hosting solutions.

Oct 2008 - Present

Founder

Socialfinance.ca is an online community for all issues related to social finance in Canada and internationally. It will serve as a central online platform for the community of the people and organizations that are actively trying to advance the development of a social finance marketspace in Canada.

Nov 2008 - Present

Manager, Partnership Development

Social Capital Partners is a venture philanthropy organization that incubates and invests in revenue-generating social enterprises that employ populations outside the economic mainstream in Canada. We work with all types of corporate structures - non profit, charitable, for profit - and the key to accessing our lending capital is the commitment to establish a social hiring program as part of a recruitment strategy.

Feb 2008 - Nov 2008

Associate Consultant

Aperio's mission is to inspire, foster and support social entrepreneurship and innovation. We work exclusively with the social sector (associations, charitable organizations, and social purpose companies). Our key consulting areas include strategic and business planning for non-profits, earned income and social enterprise feasibility/business planning, partnerships, and venture philanthropy consulting.

Nov 2007 - Jan 2008

Social Finance Program Officer

The Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3CI) brings together superior academic research and knowledge dissemination to Canadian communities in ways that promote long-term growth and sustainable development. One of Canada’s leading sources of expertise in social finance, 3CI has also played a leadership role in grant-making, evaluation and policy analysis in the fields of community economic development and social enterprise.

Jan 2006 - Oct 2007

Researcher

The Community Economic Development Technical Assistance Program (CEDTAP) is Canada’s largest non-profit (non-governmental) granting agency in the field of Community Economic Development (CED). National in scope, this bilingual program serves all provinces and territories in Canada. CEDTAP provides grants to Community-based Organizations (CBOs) and also promotes activities that strengthen the CED sector as a whole.

May 2006 - Jan 2007

Junior Policy Analyst

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is Canada’s lead agency for development assistance. The Human Rights and Participation Division is responsible for policy analysis and advice in the areas of human rights, children’s rights and participatory development. Key files included human rights measurement, rights-based approach to development, and the links between human rights and poverty.

Recent Publications

Presentation on youth engagement in social enterprise in Canada. Includes examples, best practices and tools/resources.

Accounting for Social Impact: The Expanded Value Added Statement

Social accounting examines ways in which economic, social and environmental value can be captured and communicated. Building on traditional accounting principles, the Expanded Value Added Statement (EVAS) is an innovative tool to account for economic, social, and environmental factors. It provides a way to account for traditionally non-monetized factors (such as volunteer hours) to provide a better picture of social value creation.

Investing in Communities: Meritas Mutual Funds

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is concerned with balancing financial return and social impact. Meritas is a socially-responsible mutual fund company that integrates community investment as a core pillar of SRI. Community investment can be an important brand differentiator for SRI, and provide a significant social benefit to local communities.

Strategies and Tools for Corporate Engagement in Community Economic Development

For many corporate leaders, it is not a question of whether to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR), but rather how to do this in the most effective way a way that not only maximizes corporate value, but also social value. This article draws lessons from corporate engagement to advance community economic development (CED), examining innovative corporate engagement strategies, and ways in which social impact can be captured, communicated, and enhanced.

Social Return on Investment: Capturing the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility

Social Return on Investment (SROI) attempts to capture the blended value generated by investments into social or community ventures. The approach uses the tools of cost-benefit analysis to assess the return of these investments. Applied to corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, SROI can be an important tool to demonstrate the social impact of corporate investments into communities.

Creating Social Value Through Purchasing: The Social Purchasing Portal

The Social Purchasing Portal (SPP) allows corporations to leverage existing purchasing power to provide added social value to their communities. The demand-driven business model allows corporations to obtain quality goods and services at competitive prices while also promoting social benefits. The SPP provides a direct and meaningful way to practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) through ethical procurement practices.

Information for Social Impact: The CEDTAP Datasets

Timely, objective, and accurate information is scarce on many social issues, and making better data available can itself be a powerful tool for social change. Knowledge management to allow relevant data to be accessed in a timely manner for decision-making and learning purposes can enhance the impact of new or existing social investment initiatives. The CEDTAP datasets present an opportunity to optimize information assets for social change, and can be an important tool for corporations, social investors, funders, CED organizations, non-profits, academics, and policy makers.

Employees Building Communities: Home Depot and Habitat for Humanity

The Home Depot Canada has formed a unique partnership with Habitat for Humanity Canada that allows both organizations to lever their respective strengths. Habitat for Humanity provides affordable housing solutions, and The Home Depot associates (employees) assist in building the housing in partnership with low-income families. As part of a broader partnership built on financial and in-kind contributions, Home Depot s employee volunteer program has generated significant corporate impact and community impact.

Franchising for Social Good: Active Green+Ross and Social Capital Partners

Franchising models can be adapted to address important social issues. Social hiring allows businesses to tap into job-ready and qualified segments of the population through community agencies. The benefits to employees, the corporation, and the community can be substantial. These benefits can be even more significant when social franchising efforts are replicated or scaled-up.

Strategic Philanthropy for CED: The Co-operators

The Co-operators is committed to building sustainable communities through corporate giving. Through the establishment of Community Economic Development (CED) Funds, they have strategically invested in CED through their CSR efforts. Strategic philanthropy through this community investment initiative has resonated positively with the organization's stakeholders.

Investing in Housing: The Public Service Alliance of Canada, Alterna Savings and the Ottawa Community Loan Fund

The Public Service Alliance of Canada Staff and Officers Pension Fund and Alterna Savings Credit Union have partnered to create an innovative vehicle to invest in affordable housing. Through a community development financial institution, the Ottawa Community Loan Fund, the pension fund investment provides a market rate of return as well as a tangible social benefit. This case demonstrates that financial institutions can invest in communities to generate a social return while meeting their fiduciary responsibilities.

Measuring Social Value in CSR: Lessons from Community Enterprise in Canada

Major public, cooperative and social enterprises around the world must find effective ways of demonstrating to both internal and external stakeholders the value created by corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies and activities. The paper argues that Expanded Value Added Statement (EVAS) is a method that also can be used by big social-purpose enterprises to assess the value they create through their CSR work. We suggest that EVAS should take its place in the CSR benchmarking tool-kits among techniques such as triple bottom-line (TBL) accounting practices, social return on investment (SROI) measures, social or sustainability scorecards, and the indicators of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).